Disabled Veteran Struggles Not To Be Evicted

Published October 3rd, 2013

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GAINESVILLE - A disabled marine veteran is now struggling to live in the place he calls home. The 55- year-old's wounds were suffered during the Vietnam era and he is now fighting not to be evicted from his home. The apartment complex he lives in which works under Housing Urban Development, isn't making things any easier for him.

A veteran who hit rock bottom after becoming homeless is trying to get back up on his feet, he currently lives at Hickory Apartments in Gainesville. Something he can afford due to the HUD program: Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program which offers subsidized housing for vets but he is at risk of losing. “Without HUD, I would be on the street... I'd be down at the St. Francis homeless shelter here,” Lawrence Kelley said.

Kelley says the conditions he's been living in aren't the best he tells me. He says the apartment hired an unlicensed contractor to fix their laundry machines. "I found out that they had done illegal repairs in the laundry room where the floor collapsed under the washers... God forbid it would have failed entirely and they got cited with a stop work order for no permit."

Also as a disabled veteran, Kelley has trouble standing this is why he requested a shower bar at his apartment, something that never got installed. "It was something under the HUD rules they are required to install it's a minor modification... It's not a major modification such as a wheel chair ramp. I only asked for one 24 inch grab bar so I'd have something to hold on to because of the gunshots on my legs." Without the shower bar, Kelley slipped and fell; dislocating his shoulder and he now needs surgery.

That's not all... Kelley also faces eviction for not paying his rent on time; something he denies. His rent is about $160 however he was getting charged $100 in late fees. "There's a lot of veterans because of our poverty that are going through this stuff. The ACHA didn't catch the illegal fees in the lease, that's something all by itself and that's a disservice to all the veterans under the HUD-VASH program," Kelley said.

The HUD guide book, which can be found online, does specify that fees assessed to those under the VASH program cannot exceed $30 per month. This is the reason Kelley says he is taking hickory apartments to court. While the Executive Director for the Alachua County Housing Authority, Herbert Hernandez was out of town he did talk to us over the phone.

Hernandez says the amount in fees can vary depending on each case. "There's not a rule book there's a guide book and there are various rules about things like that but we've got to get to that and make sure that we come up with the correct determination."

If Kelley loses the case against Hickory Place, he will get evicted and his participation in the HUD program will be terminated. We did try to speak to Hickory Place Apartments, however their representative refused to comment on camera due to litigation.